When can resistance to a standardization policy result in destandardization? The case of corporate language implementation

The implementation of corporate language policies is widely regarded as a strategy for improving communication and coordination across globally dispersed organizations. However, employees who experience a mismatch between the corporate language and their competencies or job requirements may resist the policy or attempt to change it, as documented in existing language-sensitive international business research. Nevertheless, the long-term effects of resistance against a language policy initiative have yet to be explored. We applied a two-year qualitative study following the top management’s decision to use English as a corporate language in a Danish organization. Results showed that discrepancies between external job requirements and policy directions were used by employees as a source of power to legitimize reinterpretations of the policy leading to a language destandardization process with important consequences for the organization. These findings contribute to literature on language policy implementations by describing how negotiated reactions change the practice of a policy. • Language destandardization emerges as a natural organizational response to the misalignment between top-down language standardization policies and the actual language needs of diverse departments. • Task functionality serves as a powerful justification for resistance to language standardization, with employees invoking practical job requirements to challenge and reinterpret policy implementation. • The implementation of a common corporate language policy reveals a spectrum of departmental reactions, from full embrace to complete rejection, influenced by the practical applicability of the language in specific work contexts.